Digital Surveyor On-the-Edge (DS-OTE): Real-time Situational Awareness Systems

Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) systems are enhancing Soldier situational awareness in underground facilities and other GNSS-denied subterranean environments with rapid access to accurate position and mapping data. E2MAPS has developed enduring capabilities for estimating position information in denied environments (localization) and creating floor plans and 3D point cloud datasets (mapping). While these point cloud maps are descriptive, they are difficult for human interpretation.Ā Building information modeling (BIM) is a process to simplify the physical world into 3D parametric model representations; however, generating BIM models is time and labor-intensive, limiting their adoption for defense applications. To resolve these challenges, automated workflows are needed to convert point cloud data into actionable BIM models. Mach9 Robotics Inc. will address this need to reduce the amount of time and labor needed to create BIM models from point clouds with the development of an automated end-to-end BIM production system for mission-critical defense applications. This production system will integrate with the E2MAPS system and ingest real-time and post-processed data to generate BIM objects and features for visualization and exploitation. In this Direct-to-Phase-II, Mach9 will (1) integrate E2MAPS data sources, (2) develop and integrate a lightweight model that supports real-time inference of the identified 3D BIM objects, and (3) support automated extraction of extended infrastructure, such as pipes. During this work, Mach9 will develop dedicated machine learning and computer vision solutions targeted for on-edge deployment and real-time production, generating models in seconds that could take humans weeks to produce manually. The real-time BIM model production capabilities developed will be able to enhance situational awareness while reducing operator cognitive burden, level of experience, and time needed to exploit and process complex 3D geospatial data.